martes, 19 de junio de 2012

Pawlenty o Portman

Mitt Romney’s vice presidential search team is not seriously vetting Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), one of the Republican Party’s brightest young stars, as the all-but-certain GOP nominee increasingly gravitates toward more experienced but less charismatic leaders as a potential running mate.

ABC News first reported Tuesday morning that Romney’s campaign had not asked Rubio to complete a questionnaire or submit any personal financial documents, which one outside Romney adviser confirmed to The Washington Post on Tuesday. The adviser left open the possibility that Romney officials could decide to thoroughly vet Rubio at a later date.

Another Romney adviser who works directly on the campaign said that Romney officials conducted a preliminary review of Rubio, mostly reviewing documents, statements and news reports that are publicly available. The team did a similar public vetting with a large number of other candidates before whittling down to a short list for a more thorough investigation.

Other vice presidential candidates, including Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, are undergoing a more intensive review, according to two Republicans close to the campaign.

(...) “By the time you apply the gravitas test, which is really 95 percent of what Governor Romney’s looking at — people when introduced to America nobody would think twice about their ability to be president if necessary — that wipes out 90 percent of the field,” said one outside adviser close to the Romney operation who requested anonymity to speak candidly about the selection process.

The adviser said other Republicans once presumed to be contenders, including Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, fall under this same category. More-experienced candidates said to be under consideration include Rep. Paul Ryan, the House Budget Committee chairman, as well as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

(...) “It’s a decision that’s going to be made by basically one person, and there’s a lot of data gathering going on to put those choices out in front of that person,” said one senior adviser to Romney who requested anonymity to speak about the process. “It’s going to be orderly. and it won’t happen, I don’t think, before July 4th. But they’re ready.”

(...) “Blue skies ahead,” the outside Romney adviser said of Rubio. “But could he be president tomorrow? I don’t think so.”

(...) Portman, Pawlenty and Ryan have far more active on the campaign trail on Romney’s behalf than Rubio. Pawlenty spent two days traveling with Romney on his campaign bus last weekend, through New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, while Portman and his wife spent Sunday with Romney and his wife, Ann, as they campaigned across Ohio. And Ryan joined Romney on Monday in Wisconsin.

Ryan and Portman are scheduled to host a Romney fundraiser next week in Washington, targeting young professionals, while Pawlenty regularly represents Romney on political talk shows and finance events.

Their work on Romney’s behalf has been noted by Romney’s advisers; one of them labeled Pawlenty “an incredible warrior.” The former Minnesota governor, who was runner-up in McCain’s veepstakes, has emerged as a favorite among some of Romney’s staffers because he is loyal to Romney, consistently on-message and has so few airs about him. On the campaign bus this weekend, he chatted with staffers about rock music.

But many Republicans close to Romney consider Portman to be the front-runner for the nod. The outside adviser to Romney said that as Romney’s team looks deeper into Portman, they find more appeal – including, the source added, that Portman speaks fluent Spanish.

“Anybody that scratches the surface a little bit on Portman starts liking him more and more the deeper they go,” the source said.